Highland Days

Tom Weir

In March we reissued Tom Weir's first published book, Highland Days.

'Sitting writing this in a guard-tent in the blazing heat of a Belgian July I find it hard to believe that my memories are thirteen years old...
   How proud I felt after doing my first real rock-climb: a schoolboy effort on the jammed block chimney of Ben Narnain. That spring when the delights of Ben Lui and Ben More were mine and the glamour of the unknown was over every vista of jumbled peaks that opened out from the summits!...'

'Tom writes vividly of what happened. He deals in a rush of words about something which happened to him; which he had fiercely dreamed of doing -- exploring mountain country'
-- Professor Sir Robert Grieve

After writing Crème de la Crème, his lively and entertaining survey of Edinburgh's girls' schools, Alasdair Roberts has turned his attention to the city's boys' schools. Ties that Bind: Boys' Schools of Edinburgh was published towards the end of 2009.

The High School dates back to medieval times, but the Edinburgh boys' schools really took off in the 19th century with the transformation of boarding 'hospitals' into day schools, and the author covers those developments in some detail, as well as looking at earlier history and later developments. He also writes about education in the classroom, on the games fields and in the wider sense. Alasdair Roberts describes the impact of two world wars -- that of 1914-18 being particularly devastating. Recently these schools have come under pressure both economically and politically, and general social change has led to all but one of Edinburgh's boys' schools becoming coeducational. Copiously illustrated with drawings and photographs, Ties that Bind is a worthy companion to Crème de la Crème.

'A worthy follow-up to Crème de la Crème ... lively and thought-provoking'
-- The Scots Magazine

'A fascinating read'
-- Scotland magazine

Ties that Bind

Alasdair Roberts

Founded in 2001, Steve Savage Publishers started with the acquisition of the list of Gordon Wright Publishing Ltd, of Edinburgh. Our intention is to develop Gordon Wright's strong commitment to Scottish writing. Steve Savage Publishers is a member of the Independent Publishers Guild. Our list includes books on Scottish history, literature, languages and folklore, as well as guidebooks, humorous titles, and new and classic writing from Scotland and elsewhere.